Fewer students are missing school. These state policies may have helped

""said Carl Felton, III, a policy analyst at EdTrust, a nonprofit that advocates for underrepresented students. Felton is the author of a new report that looks at how policies in 22 states plus Washington, D.C., have helped improve student attendance. He said there are several things states are doing right, including collecting and publishing reliable data, and investing in early interventions and outreach programs instead of punitive practices.""

""One of the areas Felton looked at was punitive practices. He said states need to ban corporal punishment entirely and ban harsh penalties like suspensions for minor infractions because they can harm the relationship between students and educators, and they can make students feel unsafe or unmotivated to come to class. Several states, including many in the South, still allow corporal punishment in schools, and according to federal data, more than 69,000 K-12 public school students received corporal punishment during the 2017-18 school year.""

A student is chronically absent after missing at least 10% of a school year, roughly 18 days in most states. Rates of chronic absenteeism rose from about 15% in 2019 to roughly 28% in 2022. Chronic absenteeism correlates with lower academic achievement and higher dropout risk. Policies across 22 states plus Washington, D.C. have supported improved attendance by collecting and publishing reliable data and by investing in early interventions and outreach instead of punitive responses. States are encouraged to ban corporal punishment and limit suspensions for minor infractions because such practices can damage student–educator relationships and reduce attendance.

Read at www.npr.org